Bellefontaine’s boys cross country team cashed in on its first win of the season Saturday by placing first out of 11 teams at the North Union Invitational.
The Chieftains had 48 points with six runners in the top 20 to finish first. Buckeye Valley was runner-up with 61 points, Marion Harding was third with 75 points and Marion Pleasant won a 113-113 tie breaker with North Union to take fourth.
“We have much work ahead of us these weeks leading up to the Central Buckeye Conference finals,” said BHS boys head coach Ben Davis. “We will savor this moment and win, though, for a day in this roller coaster season.”
Conner Skidmore placed second out of 114 runners with a time of 17:10. Other top 20 finishes came from Gannon Purcell in eighth (17:34), Tony Stewart in ninth (17:36), Patrick Donnelly in 13th (18:03), Justin Carper in 16th (18:18) and Gavin Wilson in 17th (18:22). Ollie Moreland also came in 34th (19:22).
“It was good to get Gavin Wilson back in action (after being sick),” said Davis. “Conner closed that last mile passing thee runners.”
Rounding out the BHS boys were Noah Conner in 86th (22:10), Nate Hardy in 92nd (23:11), Micah Woolf in 94th (23:20), Payton Plikerd in 104th (24:41) and Alek Miller in 105th (24:42).
Bellefontaine’s girls also raced at North Union and finished fifth out of eight teams.
Team scores were not available.
Sophie Adelsberger led the Chieftain girls in 15th (22:15), Montanna Buck came in 21st (22:48), Ella Reier finished in 28th (23:11), Aubrey Hudson took 35th (24:00), Zoe Rister finished in 41st (24:35), Olivia Eader took 66th (27:52) and Avery Hankins rounded out the group in 67th (28:08).
Bellefontaine races Saturday at the Anna Invitational.
Big Orange boys take third at Midwest Meet of Champions
West Liberty-Salem’s boys state-ranked cross country team tested itself Saturday by attending the Midwest Meet of Champions at Hilliard Bradley High School.
The Big Orange, which are ranked ninth in the latest Division II state poll, were third with 96 points. Perrysburg won the boys nine-team meet with 61 points and Avon was runner-up with 92 points. WL-Salem’s top-ranked girls squad did not race at the meet.
“I’m very pleased with the team performance today going against much bigger schools than us,” said WL-Salem boys head coach Mike Louden. “I thought we handled our nerves well and produced a solid team race.”
WL-Salem’s boys were powered by two top five finishes. Dylan Lauck placed third with a time of 16:07 and Tate Yoder placed fifth with a time of 16:23. Owen Harrison also had a top 20 finish by placing 19th with a time of 17:20.
Also in action for the Tigers were Josh Spinner in 36th (17:53), Hayden Kennedy in 37th (17:54), Michael Jones in 40th (17:55), Ayden Estep in 44th (17:59) and Joey LaRoche in 56th (18:36).
“I was especially impressed with Owen Harrison and his breakout race,” said Louden. “He’s worked extremely hard this season and the results now are evidence of that. Dylan and Tate continue to race at a high level and today was just another stepping stone for their individual development.”
WL-Salem’s boys also had runners compete in an open race Saturday. The Big Orange came in fourth with 113 points out of five teams.
Ian Maurice led the group in 13th (18:39), Ryan Henry came in 25th (19:44), Adam LaRoche took 26th (19:56), Mason Barger finished in 30th (20:24), Hayden Miller was 38th (22:09) and Maxwell McCombs completed the team in 43d (29:51).
WL-Salem races again Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Ohio Heritage Conference championships at Cedarville University.